Greetings! Welcome to my blog.
Here, you'll find all sorts of fun things. Prepare yourself for thoughts, movie and book reviews, tips on writing and artwork, amusing things, and an occasional fanfiction.
I hope that you enjoy yourself here... and as such, I will not hold you back any longer. Take a look around and make yourself comfortable!
-Sincerely, Emmarayn Redding, Author, artist, and eccentric dreamer

Saturday, May 18, 2013

I suddenly remembered that I was tagged quite a while ago by Leilani Sunblade, so I thought that now is better than never to do it. :)

So, like the previous tag I did, I must once again state ten random things about myself, and tag several more people. So! That being said, I will get to the tag.

* * *

1) I just finished watching the first installment of the Canadian Anne of Green Gables mini-series. I've seen it before, but it's nice to rewatch it. Part II is next!

2) I have been both homeschooled and public schooled. Mostly, I've been homeschooled, but I started taking half-days at public school. Altogether, I've been involved with the public school for six years, and so I feel that I've had a pretty significant taste of both worlds. I'll do a post on that later on. :)

3) I have a book/movie/TV show quote for almost every single situation. It isn't as if I watch movies or read obsessively, it's just that I have a mind like a steel trap. Once I see something, I can quote most of it, even if I've only seen or read it once.

4) I have a hand-and-a-half sword named Rastufel, which has actually made it into one of my books. I don't know how to use it, other than what I've seen in all of the fantasy movies I watch. Still, I like to don my medieval clothes and take up my sword, and go romping around the countryside like a roving adventurer. :D

5) I like coffee. Especially when it has cream and sugar in it.

6) I like Frappachino even better. Mmmm! XD

7) I have a fanficiton for almost every story I've ever read/seen.

8) I watch Star Trek: TOS and love it. Spock is undeniably my favorite characer, although Dr. McCoy is a close second.

9) I have, on occasion, been accused of being an evil villain by my sisters. Sometimes, I fear they are not far from the truth.... mua-hahahahah! ;D

10) My favorite restaurant is Pizza Ranch. It's Christian, the food is delicious, and you can have as much as you want. :)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Get it? Sounds? Zounds? Ha ha... anyway, today I was thinking about the many sounds that have been embedded in my memory. The human mind has an amazing- and yes, sometimes even crazy- way of remembering things. A sound, a sight, a taste, or a smell, can instantly send you back to a time or place in your life that for some reason has decided to stick in your mind.

Just the other day, I was walking down the street, and happened to see a sign that said Pig Wheels. Now, I have no idea what Pig Wheels are, or why the word would be on a sign. Maybe it was the name of the restaurant. (Funny name...?) But whatever it was, the site of those words suddenly reminded me of the words pin-wheels, and instantly my mind was thrown back to the days of my childhood, playing on an ancient Mac desktop computer. At that time, I didn't know what the internet was, but I knew my way around the elementary learning games pretty well. There was a game called Reader Rabbit's Ready for Letters. Part of the game was to help Grandmother Rabbit make pin-wheels, a marshmallow-like cookie.

All of this happened in about five seconds. I hadn't thought about that game in years, but all of a sudden, I was living back in those days. It surprised me so much that I actually gasped out loud, which caused my family to look at me very strangely.

Fortunately, my sisters knew the game I was talking about, and for the next fifteen minutes we talked about all of our old childhood memories, crowded around that ancient Mac.

That's weird.

And cool, too, if you think about it. :)

And, now, after I've had a few days to think about it, I've realized that there are many other sounds I associate with specific memories, and which will always stay in my mind. I"ve decided to name a few here, and hopefully even find a few examples for you. Some of the sounds you'll recognize, and some of them you won't have clue what I'm talking about. Either way, if you ever get a chance to hear any of these sounds (which you probably will), you'll get the chance to share one of my memories. :) Enjoy!

* * *

#1: The sound of a Star Wars light saber.

#2: The sound of the TARDIS.

#3: The sound of a Star Trek door opening.

#4: The sound of the Wilhelm Scream.

#5: The sound of Gunther's alarm clock, from the movie The Paper Brigade. (This one repeats, so don't bother watching the whole thing. :)

#6: The sound of the paint can on the old video game program- Kid Pix. Unfortunately, I cannot find a sample of this one, but if you know what I'm talking about, kudos!

#7: The sound of my own alarm clock.... but I can't show you that one either. At any rate, it sends shivers down my spine. 0_0

#8: The sound of my school's bell- signaling the end of class. It was an electric tone, a slightly sharp E flat. It was very strange, and it annoyed me to no end because I'd be playing piano, and the bell would sound, and it would completely throw me off.

#9: The Pac-Man sound effects!

* * *

Couldn't quite make it to ten, but you get the point. :) What do you think? Are there any sounds that you associate with certain memories? Tell me about them in the comments, if so. :)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Her chest heaving, Rayne took a step back and raised her sword in triumph. On the ground, the once-formidable shadow known as Darth Writer's Block scrambled away, completely exhausted.

Narrowing her eyes, she pointed the sword at his neck. "Begone, Darth. You've lost today."

Writer's block lifted his hands slowly, acknowledging his defeat. "Very well, Rayne. But you know this isn't forever. I'll be back again soon, bringing my brother Procrastination with me. You can never be rid of us for good!"

Rayne gave a tired, but confident smile. "You may speak true, but I know that as long as I trust in my Savior, Jesus, He will provide a way out. It is by His strength that I have defeated you today, and by His strength that I will continue to write. Now GO!"

The shadow rose, and melted into the shade of a tree. A gust of wind blew past, taking him far away- Rayne knew not where.

"Good riddance." she muttered. She turned back to survey the damage their fight had caused. Their dual had ranged all over- starting in her room, then moving through the house, and finally ending outside underneath the large ash tree in her expansive back yard. Once she had begun fighting for herself, she had known immediately that she had the strength of her Savior behind her. It had been long and hard, and victory had not come instantaneously. She'd had to struggle, clawing her way out of the dark shadows Writer's Block and Procrastination had kept her in. But now, thankfully, it was all over. Now she was free to write to her heart's content.

The sound of solo clapping drew her attention to the branches above her head. Looking up, she spotted the lean figure of her close friend, Sir Inspiration.

"Inspire!" she exclaimed, calling him by her favorite nickname. "You came!"

Smiling, the young knight nodded and jumped down from the tree, extending his hand in friendship. "Of course I did. You know I always do."

Rayne clasped his hand, shaking it firmly. "Yes, but I confess that I did begin to doubt."

"I know, I saw." Inspiration said. "Actually, I had arrived about a day ago. But I couldn't help you because his hold was too strong. You had sunken so far into yourself that I couldn't have reached you even though I wanted to."

Rayne hung her head. "It's true. I had given in to my own procrastination as well as Darth Writer's Block's influence. I'm sorry."

Inspiration put his hand on her shoulder and cupped her chin in his hand. "Now, little one, don't worry. It's over now. You've done it."

"Thank you." Rayne said, smiling. "Thank you for understanding."

Inspiration nodded, then drew something out from his cloak. "Here. I think you forgot something!"

It was her computer and writing chip. Rayne's face lit up. "Now?"

"Why not? You've spent enough time in the dark. It's time to get some writing done!"

Together, they went off, and wrote until the sun went down.

THE END

* * *

I wrote 2,686 words yesterday. That is all I have to say. XD

-Rayne Speryll

(Disclaimer: I do not own the image used in this post. Image belongs to artist Michael Komarck. :)

Friday, May 10, 2013

Well, it's been about five weeks since my post I'm Free!... Or Am I? In which I was finally free of my expander, and had it replaced by a simple retainer. Here, as promised, is an update on my new appliance.... the MARA.

MARA is short for Mandibular Anterior Repositioning Appliance, and it is meant to move a receded jaw back into the proper position. It attaches to four teeth, two on the bottom and two on the top, with metal arms on each side that make it so that you cannot close your jaw without moving the bottom forward so that your front teeth match up correctly. Here are a few pictures to illustrate this...

This device, I will say, is much easier to tolerate than the expander ever was. As can be expected, it causes some stress to the lower jaw when it moves forward, but the pain subsides after a while. My biggest concern was the fact that I actually couldn't close my teeth at all. Because my deep bite, my teeth made no contact with each other for the entire first day. Which in turn means that I couldn't chew, and had to swallow almost any food I ate whole.

Needless to say, this was rather distressing, and coupled with the aches from the device itself, I wanted to take it off immediately. However, after a good night's sleep, my jaw had moved forward enough so that I could once again close my mouth, and- amazingly- move my bottom teeth in front of my top teeth. I'd never been able to do that before, and I hadn't even been aware that you were supposed to be able to do that. At any rate, I'd say that the MARA is doing its job credibly, and I am impressed with its speed.

The orthodontists tell me that in a year, my jaw will be exactly where it's supposed to be, and I'll be left with only a few months of braces to go. :D

For any of you who might be getting MARAs, I will give you a word of encouragement; it doesn't last forever, and it's not bad at all when you get used to it. It will probably give you a temporary lisp, and you won't be able to chew quite right, but you'll figure out the system pretty fast. :)

In the mean time, I will start marking the calendar until the day I am really... truly... free.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

I'm
sure that many of you are familiar with the new movie Rise of the
Guardians. It is now a very popular children's movie, and
rightly so. After watching it I was so impressed that my sister
Aarathyn and I looked up the original book series off of which it was
based.

William
Joyce's The Guardians is a series of three books so far, but
the next book, Sandman and the War of Dreams, will be released
in September. Although written for young audiences, it is extremely
entertaining for even older teens, such as myself.

The
Guardians starts out telling the story of two main characters, a
little girl named Katherine who lives in a magical village under the
protection of the Wizard Omrbic, and Nicholas St. North, a dashing
young bandit from Russia.

When
North has a mysterious dream about a hidden village filled with
treasure beyond imagination, he immediately sets out with his men to
find it. However, at the same time, the dark and evil menace known
as Pitch (or the Boogeyman) has reawakened and is now threatening to
destroy that very village.

Faced
with a choice between gaining infinite riches, or defending the
innocent children from Pitch, Nicholas proves himself honorable and
makes the right decision. And, after he has temporarily warded off
Pitch, the people of Santoff Claussen (as the village is called)
welcome him to their community, where he does indeed find treasure-
but not the kind he had first imagined. He finds the treasure of
friendship with the girl Katherine and the Wizard Ombric. And, when
the world is once again threatened by Pitch, Nicholas St. North and
his new friends make a brave stand to defeat him.

The
next two books tell similar stories, but each time, Pitch has a new
plan, and each time, a new member is added to the original group of
friends. So far, we have Nicholas, Ombric, Katherine, E. Aster
Bunnymund, and Toothiana. In the next book, we expect to see not
only Sandman, but a particularly wayward young boy named Jackson
Overland Frost. ( XD )

The
Guardians series is an excellent series of books for children and
teens alike. There is almost no violence, and certainly nothing
graphic. The positive views of friendship, family, innocence and
wisdom are represented well, and the classic struggle between Good
and Evil plays out again and again.

While
they do not go into the story of the Creation of the universe, it is
implied that it either evolved, or that certain planets were
constructed by other finite beings. (As an example, Bunnymund claims
to not only have helped shape the Earth, but also made the continent
of Australia.)

The
latter example, of course, is perfectly ridiculous, and is mainly
meant for comedy. The implied evolution of the universe is certainly
not uncommon in today's society. We as Christians know the truth,
that God created the world in six days, and since this book series is
presented as a work of complete fiction, I don't think this is a
problem. I just thought I'd mention it for the sake of anyone who
would.

I
recommend this series to any and all readers out there. It doesn't
matter whether you like fantasy, or steampunk, or not, this series is
a great and entertaining piece of literature. If yo do read it, I
would also suggest reading the short children's storybooks that go
with it- including Sanderson Man Snoozie and The Man in the
Moon. These colorfully illustrated storybooks have surprising
depth for bed-time stories, and they provide interesting background
stories for the characters. The artwork is absolutely beautiful.

I
anxiously look forward to the publication of Sandman and the War
of Dreams, but until then, I'll content myself with writing this
book review... then re-reading the books I already have!

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About Me

Known to some imaginary people as the InkThane of the North, Emmarayn Redding has been writing stories and poems since she discovered that it was fun to write neatly. Now, having moved on to the more modern method of typing her stories, she is the author of "The Quest for the Ivory Sword", a children's fantasy novel, and "The Madman of Elkriahl and Other Fairy Tales", a collection of original fairy tales.
When she is not writing, Emmarayn enjoys playing piano, guitar, penny whistle, and saxophone, writing songs, and then singing them loudly in the grain bins. She loves spending time with her mother, father, and six siblings, who often spend their days gardening, taking care of goats, cleaning the house, or lounging and watching Lord of the Rings, or Pride and Prejudice, or Jason Bourne.
Should you ever meet her, you will find she is an unusually tall girl, though not as tall as some of those Minesota girls who actually tower over her and make her wonder if there is any nephilim blood in their veins.
(Just kidding. If they had six fingers on the other hand...;)